perj75

Subject: Bush Facing Contempt of Court Charges

I thought that i would pass along the following information to you about George W.
Bush facing contempt charges for lying on an affidavit in a civil case:

The problem for Bush is that he swore under oath, in a July 20th 1999 affidavit,
that he "had no conversations with [SCI] officials, agents, or represenatives
concerning the investigation or any dispute arising from it."

If Rogers is telling the truth, than Bush Jr. lied directly under oath. He filed the
affidavit in an attempt to avoid testifying in a whistleblower lawsuit concerning
this investigation and it's alleged squashing by Bush's administration.

In the latest development, Bush himself has admitted that he spoke with Waltrip
and Rogers, but denies that it was anything substantial. Bush told the AP that
"It's a 20-second conversation. I had no substantive conversation with the guy.
Twenty seconds. That's hardly enough time to even say hello, much less sit
down and have a substantive discussion. All I know is it lasted no time.
And that hardly constitutes a serious discussion. I did not have any knowledge
at all of Waltrip's problem with this case.''

Of course, nothing Bush says here contradicts what Rogers said.
In fact, his careful construction of this and other phrases for reporters -- such as
"When I was young and irresponsible, I was really young and irresponsible,"
and his evasion about whether Jews can go to heaven -- are incredibly similar to
Bill Clinton's weaseling about dope, the draft, what "is" is, etc.

Whatever Bush said out loud, Waltrip's complaints to the governor got quick results.
Eliza May -- the investigator for the funeral services commission -- says that after
Waltrip visited the governor, she received phone calls from three senior Bush aides
asking if she could wrap up her proble quickly. She says she was also summoned to
another meeting in Allbaugh's office, one month after the first one, and found
Waltrip already there. The governor's top aide, she says, demanded that she turn over
a list of all of the documents that she needed "to close the SCI investigation."

Since then, investigator Eliza May has been fired, 6 or 10 staff members on the
commission have been fired or resigned and not been replaced, and the Texas legislature
-- led by members receiving substantial contributions from SCI -- passed a bill to
reorganize the agency and remove it's head. On August 16, 199, Bush ordered his
Comptroller to take over the agency and run it. May -- who, it should be noted, is a
Democrat and was even state Democratic Treasurer at one point -- has filed a
whistleblower lawsuit alleging she was fired because she persisted with the
investigation.

Bush simply didn't show up for his scheduled deposition on July 1st in the case.
(He isn't a defendant in the case, because Governors are immune from lawsuits
in Texas, but is being called as a material witness.) He filed his affidavit on July 20th
to indicate that he had nothing to add. A hearing is scheduled on August 30th to
determine if that is the case. Since he admitted in the press that he did meet with
Waltrip and Rogers, May has filed a contempt of court motion with the court as well.

Funeralgate Sources

"The Funeral Home Flap: Trouble for a Texas Mortician with links to the Bush Family",
by Michael Isikoff, Newsweek, August 16, 1999

"Bush Affidavit Refuted", by Janet Elliot, Law News Network, August 16, 1999

"Funeral company hopeful after takeover " By Juan B. Elizondo Jr., Austin
American-Statesman, Wednesday, August 18, 1999

"Governor's role questioned in funeral agency oversight: Bush's office rejects
call for legislative control", By George Kuempel , The Dallas Morning News, August 8, 1999

"Bush Watch Special: Dubya and The Gravedigger", by Jerry Politex, The Bush
Watch Website (ongoing)

Scandal Timeline, Austin Chronicle, ongoing

Sincerely,

Gary Garland
Yorba Linda, California